NOTE: We have split our UN report on Human Rights for Autistics in Ontario into sections and are blogging them. This is the intro.
Introduction
In this report, we discuss current human rights abuses against autistic Canadians. We start with a history of autistic life in Canada and a discussion of issues in data collection, then move on to our areas of focus. We will focus most specifically on Ontario (where we are based), with some data from other provinces and territories.
Our areas of focus are: schools (exclusion, restraints, isolation rooms); medical settings (lack of consent, inaccessible care); employment (access, exploitation in sheltered workshops); and housing (the impact of poverty, abuses in group/residential homes).
We write this report with a keen awareness of how intersectionality (the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, gender and neurotype) deeply impacts our lives, as well as the impact of trauma and the need for trauma-informed best practices in schools, medical settings, housing and social services.
Appendix 1 contains a list of institutions you may wish to contact and visit when you are here because they have been the subject of human rights complaints or are otherwise referenced. [redacted from online version]
About us
Autistics for Autistics Ontario (A4A) is an autistic self-advocacy organization. We are autistic youth and adults from a range of professions and backgrounds, advocating for the rights of all autistics in our province.
Since our founding a year ago, we have become involved in campaigns on issues such as: sheltered workshops; schools and housing; access to medical care; abusive “treatments” on children; violence/murder by caregivers; sexuality education; autism acceptance; and the need for Canadian policymakers to consult autistic people in the decisions that affect our lives.
For more information about A4A, please read our Annual Report (attached).
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